Body scanners are the latest addition in the battle against terrorists, and they are now due to be introduced to Heathrow Airport.
Christmas Day 2009 saw an attempted attack on a US plane, and since that incident occurred there has been a renewed push to increase security at many airports.
But Heathrow could be bringing in these new body scanners within a matter of weeks. The main government website in the UK has announced this addition in recent days, and the plan is to bring them in before January is over.
There has been much controversy over the scanners though because they are very revealing. People are apparently going to be chosen at random to be scanned by them. The scanner produces images which display the person naked, so not much is left to the imagination.
Some feel this is too intrusive while others believe it is a necessary evil to help combat potential threats to airline security. If you are chosen to be scanned you will be asked if you agree to the process. If you don’t, you will be searched by hand instead. Some feel the scanner is the lesser of two evils in this situation, while others have refused to go through it and opted for the hand search.
It is good news that there is an alternative for those who feel the body scanners are too intrusive. The images generated are not kept however, so once the person has passed through the scanner and been found to be clear, they are permanently deleted. Some are still understandably concerned about civil liberties however.
There have been thousands of reports during the past week about the body scanners, and this isn’t surprising. Once they actually come into operation at Heathrow we can expect plenty more about them in the news as well. Not everyone will be scanned – it is done at random. But there is no doubt that many people are debating whether this is a step too far or whether it really is a vital weapon in the fight against terrorism.
There is still a chance people could slip through anyway, since not every passenger will be scanned. But presumably staff members are trained to try and recognise more likely suspects among passengers. It remains to be seen how successful and how prevalent these body scanners will become in the near future.